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Best Cars to Buy Used Over New in the US

Ownership is a knife with two edges to be completely frank. On one hand you’re there, behind the wheel of your spanking brand new ride, getting acquainted with the onboard gadgets, the unique smell of a freshly delivered vehicle, you know the drill. But on the other hand, buying new will unfortunately make you lose a helluva lot of money through depreciation.
Hyundai Genesis 1 photo
Photo: Hyundai
Of course, without buying new, the automotive industry couldn’t go forward. But some cars are better to buy after one year of ownership due to, ring ring ring, depreciation. The miles, wear & tear or any other fine detail doesn’t matter too much in a post-global financial crisis world. A new vehicle’s value takes a dive immediately whether you like or not.

In order to further detail how depreciation affects the US automotive ecosystem, a study published by the peeps from iSeeCars.com points out what are the best cars to buy after a year of use. The online automotive search and research website analyzed 15.7 million vehicles for sale over the last year to identify which ones had the biggest price differences between new and lightly used examples of the same breed.

So if you want a great deal on your next car, let’s hear the highlights of iSeeCars’ latest study. The top 10 cars with the largest price differences lost 29.2 percent to 38.2 percent in value after only one year of ownership. Alas, buying a used 1-year-old model over an all-new car equates to substantial savings for end users - from $6,800 up to $37,600.

Without further ado, these are the top 10 best cars to buy used over new:

- Hyundai Genesis (-38.2 percent price difference over the first year)

- smart fortwo (-36.9 percent)

- Cadillac CTS (-36.9 percent)
- Chevrolet Impala (-33.5 percent)
- GMC Yukon XL (-32.8 percent)
- Volvo S80 (-32.6 percent)
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class (-32.4 percent)
- Lincoln MKS (-30.4 percent)
- MINI Cooper (-29.3 percent)
- Jaguar XK (-29.2 percent)


For consumers shopping for a Hyundai Genesis, the car with the biggest percentage loss in value, choosing a 1-year-old used Genesis over a brand new one can lead to potential savings of $16,000, informs iSeeCars. Buyers looking for a Chevrolet Impala, the most popular car on the top 10 list, can potentially save $10.8k.

"There are numerous reasons for the wide range of differences, but the most prominent factors that increase the price difference between a car's new and lightly used models are lower popularity compared to its competitors, a brand with reported dependability issues or expensive repairs, or having just undergone a redesign," declared Mr. Phong Ly, the chief executive officer of iSeeCars.

"If you buy a 1-year-old car of a model that has been fully redesigned for the current model year, such as the 2015 Hyundai Genesis, then you’re buying the previous generation of the car and it will already look dated compared to the new model." Ly added. Still, think about how much you save by going second hand instead of new.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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